🔗 Share this article The Great White Are on the Brink of Disappearing in the Mediterranean Sea, Scientists Warn Great white sharks in the Mediterranean basin are on the verge of vanishing, with illegal fishing being a major contributor to their alarming decline. This finding is based on studies conducted by experts, who collaborated with an ocean protection organization. They indicate that several critically endangered species – including great white sharks – are appearing for sale in ports across North Africa. Great whites are one of more than 20 Mediterranean shark species protected under international law, which prohibits to target them or to offer them for sale. However, by surveying docks along the North African Mediterranean shoreline, the research team discovered that at least 40 great white sharks have been killed there in 2025 alone. Conservationists and scientists say they have observed safeguarded animals for sale in ports in the region. Footage from social media showing endangered sharks being unloaded in North African ports has been confirmed. One piece of footage showed a big shark being hauled ashore from a vessel in an Algerian port. Additional footage, filmed in Tunisia, shows remains and fins of what is believed to be a mako shark, which is also a protected and endangered species. Remaining Habitat The researchers worked from a ship in the Sicily Strait. The project head, explained that many populations of sharks – great whites especially – had suffered a severe drop in the Mediterranean in recent decades. "No other stretch of water is subjected to such fishing pressure as the Mediterranean Sea," he said. "The impact of industrial fishing has been increasing... and it's possible that they will become extinct in the near future." The Mediterranean white shark population is now listed as Critically Endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. In their most recent effort to locate and research the animals, the team worked in the Strait of Sicily – an area identified as a "final refuge" in the Mediterranean for several sharks at risk. A primary objective of their mission was to attach a satellite tag onto a white shark – something that has not yet been accomplished in the Mediterranean Sea. To do this, the researchers used a large amount of bait – including baitfish and 500 litres of tuna oil to create a "fat slick" that many sharks can detect from a great distance. After two weeks of work – chumming the water, taking samples of seawater to test for environmental DNA and using underwater cameras – the researchers did not manage to find any sharks to tag. They captured only a short sighting of one blue shark on their submarine cameras. "It's discouraging," the lead researcher said. "It just shows how depleted this marine environment is." During their search for surviving sharks, they also learned that a small great white had been captured and killed in a regional fishery – just 20 nautical miles from where they were working. It is unknown whether that animal was ensnared unintentionally in fishing gear, or if it was targeted. The team, however, estimates that in excess of 40 great white sharks have been caught around that coast. "This is a lot for a critically endangered population," the researcher emphasized. Sharks for Sale An investigation in North African markets in recent years discovered endangered sharks being sold. The researchers, along with local partners, are monitoring several fishing ports in the region. Evidence shows that sharks under protection are taken and traded in countries including several North African nations. The regulations safeguarding sharks are complex. Currently, 24 threatened species have international legal protection – including mako, angel, threshers and hammerheads. An international agreement states that those species cannot be "retained on board, transhipped, landed, transferred, stored, sold or displayed or offered for sale". The agreement specifies "they must be released alive [where] possible". Those rules are not designed for accidental bycatch and compliance varies from one place to another. The researchers used remote monitoring gear to look for sharks. A expert noted that his own investigation found several great whites on sale. But, he said, there was a seeming silver lining in the fact that white sharks were being found in markets. "It shows that there is wildlife left," he said. "And if we can safeguard this, there is a hope for revival." What Can Be Done? In economically challenged regions in North Africa, fishing communities who catch sharks might face the decision of whether to feed their family, or return a threatened species to the ocean. "Why would they throw sharks back into the sea when they must feed their households?" asked a scientist. "If you provide alternatives and education in more sustainable fishing, they will not catch white sharks." A conservationist added that if countries around the Mediterranean worked together, "there is hope." "But," he continued, "we've got to act very quickly."